Benue State, referred to as the Food Basket of the nation, is also known for its coal deposits in commercial quantities. It is home to the Owukpa community in Ogbadibo Local Government Area. This community is one of the districts of the Local Government Area (LGA) alongside Orokam, and Otukpa, the headquarters of the LGA. The three districts have distinct mineral resources, including coal, and kaolin. Ogbadibo has an area of 598 km2 and a population of 128,707 as of the 2006 census.

A short movie – Choked on Coal, led a Yes to Life No to Mining (YLNM) member, Health of Mother Earth Foundation based in Nigeria, to visit the people of Owukpa in the year 2023, following the outcries and stories of resistance of the people, especially the women, to the operation of a coal mine in their community. The people of this land, known for cassava cultivation and other agricultural produce that includes yam, beniseed, good quality palm wines, palm oil, cashew nuts, kola nuts, Bambara nuts, melon, and millet have had to endure the heavily polluting operation of a coal mining company since 2007.

The Coal Mining Crisis 

It is known that coal is a dirty form of energy responsible for over 0.3°C of the 1°C rise in the global average temperature. In Nigeria, it is present in significant quantities mainly in the Lower, Middle, and Upper Benue Trough of Nigeria. The coal deposits of the Anambra Basin in the Lower Benue Trough, located in southeastern Nigeria contain the largest and most economically viable coal resources.  In the Lower Benue Trough, lignite and sub-bituminous coals occur within the Mamu Formation (Middle Campanian  –  Late Maastrichtian).  High-volatile bituminous coals are found within the Awgu Formation (Middle Turonian – Early Santonian) in the Middle Benue Trough while the Upper Benue Trough contains lignites and sub-bituminous coals in the Gombe Sandstone Formation (Early Campanian – Late Maastrichtian). 

On the economic geology, the sub-bituminous coals in the Lower and Upper  Benue Trough are best for combustion, power generation, and chemical production and better for liquefaction while the high-volatile bituminous coals in the Middle Benue Trough are best for liquefaction and are the most suitable as raw material for coke making in steel manufacture. It is currently estimated that Nigeria is host to 2.8 billion tonnes of high-quality lignite coal.

Map showing this Sample location map (modified after Obaje 2009)

The Nigerian Coal Corporation says exploration in Nigeria started around 1916. Its coal is available in more than 22 coalfields spread over 13 States. The proven coal reserves are about 639 million metric tonnes, while the inferred reserves are about 2.75 billion metric tonnes.

Presently, the Nigeria Coal Industry has 4 existing mines:

1 & 2: Okpara and Onyeama underground mines in Enugu State,

3 & 4: Okaba surface mine in Kogi State and Owukpa underground mothballed coal mine in Benue State, Nigeria.[1][2] .

In addition to these, there are more than 13 underdeveloped coalfields. 

At a September 2008 ministerial press briefing, the Minister in charge of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development stated that to give the reforms in the mining sector a more meaningful approach, the leadership of the Ministry has prioritized the development of Seven Strategic Minerals (7SM): Coal, Bitumen, Limestone, Iron Ore, Barytes, Gold and Lead/Zinc. 

“These seven minerals are world-class and have been carefully chosen for development given their strategic importance to Nigeria’s economy and their availability in quantities that are sufficient to sustain mining operations for years.”

But the reality of this decision is that the Nigerian state is willing to embrace coal as a cheap source of electricity only because it has not taken into account the health costs, the cost of the resettlement of communities, the cleaning up of polluted waters and the reclamation of mining areas. 

Mining-related conflicts Insights

Owukpa coal fields were exploited by Owukpa Consolidated Mines Nigeria Limited, a company that has three operating licenses issued by the Nigerian state, one issued in 2007 (expires in 2031-12-31) and the other two were issued in 2015 (expires in 2040). The three mining licenses: Mining licenses 3251, 3252, and 3250 are still active but due to increased pressure and protest by Owukpa women, neighboring villagers, and environmental activists, the mines have remained closed since 2022.   

Photo: Community women – credit Vivian Chime

This community has one functional secondary school behind which the mine is sited, no functional medical center, very poor power supply, electricity, the state of the roads is very pathetic, and water is becoming scarce as the streams which they depend on are drying. The community of farmers and petty traders has had to cope with the impacts of coal mining, which degraded their farms, polluted their air and streams, and negatively impacted the health of the people. 

When the miners came, in the early 2000s, the people said they promised to build healthcare infrastructure, provide good roads, and pipe-borne water to say the least, but several years down the line, these things have not materialized. Owukpa people have tried to have dialogues with the miners but their efforts have fallen on deaf ears. So the women decided in 2021 to take to a 2-week peaceful protest, where they prevented the miners from accessing the site and further demanded that they stop work until they fulfill their promises. From 2022 until now, the mines have remained closed to any operation. 

Mining scope, operations and policy

Nigeria’s Mining sector currently generates about 0.3% of GDP, in comparison to the 10% contribution of the oil and gas sector. The exploitation of coal, as is with other mineral resources, is governed by the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act of 2007, and the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulation of 2011. It is administered by the Minister for Solid Minerals Development who has the general responsibility for the development of a comprehensive programme of exploitation of Nigeria’s mineral resources. The Act provides that the Minister shall by regulation determine areas wherein an exploration license and a mining lease shall be granted based on competitive bidding.

This Act also gives precedence for the use of land for mining over other uses of land and shall be considered for the purposes of access, use and occupation as constituting overriding public interest under the Land Use Act.

The Act further empowers any group of people or company with an exploration License, an exclusive right to conduct exploration upon the land within the area of their license. An exploration license is granted in respect of an area not exceeding 200 square kilometers. The duration of an exploration license is for 3 years and it may be renewed for two further periods of 2 years each. The holder of an Exploration License shall have an exclusive right to be granted one or more Small Scale Mining Lease, Mining Lease, or Quarry Lease in respect of any part(s) of the exploration area provided the holder has complied with all the obligations of the exploration license.

See what immense power has been conferred on a company to exploit people! 

This is being enforced in many territories of Nigeria where a form of mining happens. Although Nigeria is a signatory to the Paris Agreement with an NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) to reduce GHG emissions in 2030 by 20% below business-as-usual emissions, with an increase in its conditional target to 47% below business-as-usual emissions in 2030, and plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, it is opening its arm wide to dirty fossil fuels sources like coal to be exploited. What a contradiction!

In August 2014, the government, through the minister, declared that 30% of Nigeria’s electricity should come from coal. By 2016, the federal government said it was willing to grant mining licenses to any company with a power generation license.

An overview of current mining exploration concessions and active mining operations 

Owukpa coal fields 2022 was exploited by Owukpa Consolidated Mines Nigeria Limited, a company that has three operating licenses that were issued by the Nigerian state, one was issued in 2007 (expires in 2031) and the other two were issued in 2015 (expires in 2040), Although the three mining licenses (Mining license 3251, 3252 and 3250) are still active but as earlier stated the mining activities have been halted due the increased pressure from the community folks.

The Owukpa coal fields have an estimated reserve of 75 million tonnes. The exact percentage of land occupied by the Owukpa Coal Fields in Nigeria is not readily available, but from our observation it occupies a large part of their pristine forest and farmland, which is under serious threat by the mining operations.

The Local government also houses other mines, including one run by the richest man in Africa. That mine is more notorious and those who have investigated this story here and elsewhere where they operated have become refugees in their lands.  Daily, this mine hauls over two hundred 30-tonne trucks of coal to its Obajana cement factory.

Their activity, as with the other mine, pollutes the air with thick carbon particulate matter, and the communities have had to bear the brunt of this act. Scientifically, it is a known fact that coal-related emissions produce two major dangerous pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate matter, which are responsible for a wide range of diseases – from lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Particulate matter, especially PM2.5, is capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream, causing cardiovascular, cerebrovascular (stroke), and respiratory impacts. There is emerging evidence that particulate matter impacts other organs and causes other diseases as well.

NO2 on the other hand is associated with respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing, or difficulty breathing), hospital admissions and visits to emergency rooms, which is commonplace as even the head chief from Ibagwa community also testifies of this impact on his health. Chief Godwin Onoja, Ibagua community head, has suffered Bronchitis due to air and water pollution he said, some of his community members have suffered blindness and respiratory illnesses, some have even died.

Air pollution is the greatest global threat to human health, according to the latest report from the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI). In 2019, air pollution was the second leading risk factor for death across Africa, a large and dynamic continent that is home to more than 1.2 billion people. In terms of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5), 5 of the world’s 10 most heavily polluted countries are in Africa. When the World Health Organisation (WHO) revised its air pollution guidelines in 2021 to reflect the damage air pollution can have on human health, it found that a staggering 99% of the world’s population was breathing unhealthy air. According to a report by State of Global Air, the death rate linked to air pollution in Africa (155 deaths/100,000 people) is almost double the global average (85.6/100,000). A whopping 1.1 million deaths annually can be traced to air pollution.

Many cities across Africa are not monitoring air quality for obvious reasons: there is a lack of assessment equipment, and only those who live close to mines, like the people of Owukpa, can identify a physical source of air pollution due to their proximity to these sites. 

Resistance to mining

In 2014 community members began creating awareness and leading campaigns on social media about the land degradation and health challenges being experienced as a result of coal mining. This fueled a few protests and resistance. But in 2021, the community led by the women mobilized and began to consolidate their plans to lead some peaceful protest after several attempts to dialogue with the miners fell on deaf ears. This led to a major peaceful action that lasted for about two weeks, day and night. 

Part of their agitations was that the coal mining company had promised the community basic amenities like water, schools, and healthcare centers but never stayed true to their promise. And yet, the community is made to suffer the consequences of the mining. They also lamented the state of their roads which is worsened by the movement of heavy-duty equipment, and the pollution to their water bodies which is a huge problem as they depend on the streams for water, air and the consequent impact on their health. The people who are mainly farmers of cashews and other fruit and food crops have had their lands taken without adequate compensation.

Although this community was crafted from the name “Ayi-Okpa” which means descendants of the waterside, they now battle a severe problem with water shortage. They depend on the streams, a few boreholes sunk by those who can afford it, and rainfall to fill their home wells, which are now heavily impacted by the particulate matter from the mines. 

The streams are drying up and community members believe that the Yari stream and other nearby streams are drying up due to miners disrespecting the laws of the streams, although this is not scientifically proven, the knowledge holders of the land have their ways to prove this. The Okpokwu River, which flows through Owukpa and neighboring towns, is no longer a safe water source for drinking, farming, and fishing as it has been polluted with toxic metals and mining runoff. This is not just an in-situ crisis, the contamination flows downstream, affecting even the distant communities in Cross River State.

One of the main sites of the company is cited right behind the only secondary school in the community. The Children have had to study with the loud sounds of dynamite blasts, the presence of black coal dust particles, vibrations from the operations, and the movement of heavy-duty equipment. The place of their study has also had its fair share of devastations, evident in huge cracks in the walls and the abandonment of some building blocks due to their destroyed state. On the company’s website (which is currently down), it clearly stated its core values to include: ‘the value for lives and well-being of indigenes of the area of operation and the development of the society it operates in’. But none of this is true for the Owukpa community.

With respect to compensation for farmlands the miners took possession of, our investigation revealed that community people who used to make profits of close to five hundred thousand naira (about $350) from a good cashew harvest, which in good weather condition happens more than once in a year, were offered monies not commensurate with their profits. But shockingly, the highest compensation paid by this company was 1,600,000 Naira while the least paid was 80,000 Naira for perpetual use of the land by the company. This was shared by community folks we spoke to but we have declined naming them for fear of arrest or persecution.

One of the operational mining companies in the local government area has promised to fill the mines/pit when exploration is done. The big question is how? Where will the sand to fill the pits be sourced from?  

The communities in Owukpa, and the environs where the coal mines operate are dependent on rainfall harvested into storage, as well as hand-dug wells and streams for their daily water use. Water tankers go to the stream and suck up water for sale to many homes. But on a visit to the community stream, we observed the unsafe nature of the stream for use by people and many streams, according to the people, are drying up/are dried already. 

As the activities of the mines intensifies we foresee more severe impacts on their sources of water as is already being experienced in Owukpa.

Alternatives and proposals

Farming has thrived for generations in this community; supporting this venture can revive their local economy, creating a sense of ownership and continued stewardship of the ecology. 

The hardworking people of Owukpa have survived pretty well as agronomists and small business holders, even with serious energy challenges. Many have embraced renewable energy sources such as solar power to meet their energy needs at home and at their business places. 

In January 2025, YLNM, in partnership with the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, distributed multifunctional solar power systems to 40 women in Owukpa. The beneficiaries expressed gratitude, noting that these systems would help improve their homes and businesses.

We advocate for an energy transition that is both ecologically and socially just. Harnessing Nigeria’s vast solar and wind potential would provide clean, renewable alternatives to coal, offering communities like Owukpa a way forward without the environmental and health hazards associated with coal mining. “Embracing these technologies will help move us beyond the violent and harmful practice of extraction, which assumes the Earth has no limits, and instead provide communities with clean energy systems.”

Conclusion

The people of Owukpa have endured enough. They are saying no to coal extraction, and they want their land, their health, and their livelihoods preserved. Their resistance is not just for their own survival, but for the future of their community and the generations to come. It’s time to listen to their calls and prioritize the well-being of the people over harmful mining practices.